Lake Vermont Mine, owned by the Lake Vermont joint venture, is an open cut mine which produces hard coking coal and PCI coal.

Jellinbah Group CEO Greg Chalmers said: “Thiess has proactively worked with us to ensure that the Lake Vermont mine remains competitive on a global scale, driving value through innovative technical solutions and a focus on operational outcomes.”

Under the contract, Thiess will apply mining engineering, operations and plant expertise to increase production from six million tons to eight million tons of coal per annum over the remaining five years of the current deal.

In 2013, Thiess has been awarded a $550m contract expansion from Jellinbah Resources to increase coal production at Lake Vermont coal mine in Central Queensland, Australia.

Jellinbah Group holds a 70% stake in the joint venture and other co-partners include Marubeni Coal, Sojitz Coal and AMCI, which each hold a 10% stake.